Acidic Vs. Akaline

The Importance of Acid and Alkaline Balance for Health

Virtually all degenerative diseases including cancer, heart disease, arthritis, osteoporosis, kidney and gall stones, and tooth decay are associated with excess acidity in the body. While the body has a homeostatic mechanism that maintains a constant pH 7.4 in the blood, this mechanism works by depositing and withdrawing acid and alkaline minerals from other locations including the bones, soft tissues, body fluids and saliva. Therefore, the pH of these other tissues can fluctuate greatly. The pH of saliva offers a window through which you can see the overall pH balance in your body.

Cancer cannot exist in an alkaline environment. All forms of arthritis are associated with excess acidity. Acid in the body dissolves both teeth and bones. Whatever health situation you are faced with, you can monitor your progress toward a proper acid/alkaline balance by testing your saliva pH.
What are Acid and Alkaline?

Water (H2O) ionizes into hydrogen (H+) and hydroxyl (OH-) ions. When these ions are in equal proportions, the pH is a neutral 7. When there are more H+ ions than OH- ions then the water is said to be acid. If OH- ions outnumber the H+ ions then the water is alkaline. The pH scale goes from 0 to 14 and is logarithmic, which means that each step is ten times the previous. In other words, a pH of 4.5 is 10 times more acid than 5.5, 100 times more acid than 6.5 and 1,000 times more acid than 7.5.
Acid and Alkaline Minerals and Foods

Minerals with a negative electrical charge are attracted to the H+ ion. These are called acid minerals. Acid minerals include: chlorine (Cl-), sulfur (S-), phosphorus (P-), and they form hydrochloric acid (HCl), sulfuric acid (H2SO4), and phosphoric acid (H3PO4). Minerals with a positive electrical charge are attracted to the negatively charged OH- ion. These are called alkaline minerals. Nutritionally important alkaline minerals include calcium (Ca+), potassium (K+), magnesium (Mg+), and sodium (Na+). (Cancer patients tend to have an excess of sodium. - Gerson page 97). Also important for cancer treatment and prevention are the alkaline trace minerals rubidium and cesium. To determine if a food is acid or alkaline, it is burned and the ash is mixed with water. If the solution is acid or alkaline then the food is called acid or alkaline. Ash is the mineral content of the food.
Nine Ways to Restore Acid/Alkaline Balance in Your Body

If your saliva is too acid you may wish to increase the alkalinity of your body. Ways to do this include:

1. Eat mostly alkaline foods. The general "rule of thumb" is to eat 20% acid foods and 80% alkaline foods. Avoid the "strongly acid" foods.

Strongly Acid
(avoid)

Mild Acid
20%

Mild Alkaline
80%

Strongly Alkaline
(supplement)

meat

grains

fruits
calcium

fish

legumes

vegetables

magnesium

eggs

nuts

berries
potassium

hard cheese

milk, yoghurt, soft curds

cesium

Fats and oils have a neutral pH, neither acid nor alkaline. Plant-based beverages (tea, coffee, cocoa, herbal teas, beer, wine, juices of fruits and vegetables) are generally mildly alkaline. The above summary is based on a detailed Acid Base Food Table you can download. If you want more information, there are some articles you can download here.

2. Supplement your diet with alkaline minerals. Salts of the alkaline minerals cesium, rubidium and potassium have been found by Dr. Brewer to be particularly effective in fighting cancer. Dr. Gerson (page 246) gave his patients a 10% potassium solution. Potassium tablets are commonly available. Potassium salt (potassium chloride - KCl) is often found in grocery stores as a "salt substitute". Potassium bicarbonate (KHCO3) can be used as a substitute for sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) when baking. Search on the Internet for a supplier of potassium bicarbonate if you cannot find it locally. Many people take calcium, magnesium and vitamin D daily in order to help prevent osteoporosis. Take your calcium in divided doses with meals so that it can be better absorbed. Taking a vitamin C tablet with your calcium helps the calcium dissolve. Eating a little coconut oil with each meal helps the body absorb many nutrients including calcium and magnesium.

People in North America tend to consume much sodium and calcium and insufficient potassium and magnesium. This is often reflected in urine tests which show sodium and calcium being excreted while potassium and magnesium are retained. We suggest that rather than focusing on calcium to increase your alkalinity, you should consume a variety of alkaline minerals so that the body can choose what it needs from what is offered.

While it is well known that calcium needs vitamin D in order to be absorbed and utilized, most people in northern climates tend to be deficient in vitamin D, particularly in winter. Even in summer, recent advice from the medical profession to avoid the sun and to block ultraviolet light from reaching the skin through the use of sunscreens leads to vitamin D deficiency. Better advice is to experience the sun in moderation in all seasons. Stay out of the sun during the hottest part of a summer day, but otherwise utilize the sunlight to maximize your vitamin D production. Plus, consume vitamin D dietary supplements in all seasons.

Also, while it is commonly understood that the body needs calcium to build bones, what is not generally known is bones are a complex matrix of many different minerals and if all the required minerals are not present then strong bones cannot be built. There are at least 18 key bone-building nutrients essential for optimum bone health. The implication is that it is easier to destroy bone through excess acidity in the body than it is to rebuild bone. Furthermore, as farm soils become depleted of many trace minerals the foods grown on these soils contain less and less of the required nutrients. At last count, the human body requires 90 different nutrients for optimum health, and the list is growing year by year. A good nutritional supplement is no longer optional.

Magnesium Complements Calcium

Calcium is needed to contract a muscle and magnesium is needed to relax it. Too much calcium in the diet relative to magnesium can lead to muscle cramping and spastic constipation. If your stools are hard, dry and difficult to expel then this indicates you need more magnesium.

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If you do not eat dairy products, you can get calcium from cooked greens (collards especially), molasses, sesame seeds, broccoli, and tofu. If you are worried about getting enough calcium, take a supplement. A reasonable dose of supplemental calcium is 1,000-1,500 milligrams a day... It is good to know that supplemental calcium is not harmful, since so many people are taking it today.

Magnesium complements calcium in the same way that potassium complements sodium. Calcium and magnesium in balance are needed for proper conduction of electrical impulses in nerves and muscles. - www.drweil.com

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A problem with dairy products is that they contain so little magnesium. This is one reason why dairy products do not build healthy bones. Your best dietary source of magnesium is green leafy vegetables, because plants use magnesium to make chlorophyll. Some plants such as collards, broccoli, romaine lettuce, bok choy, and kale contain an abundance of both magnesium and calcium.

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Almonds are a particularly good source of calcium, magnesium and vitamin E. Almond milk is sometimes used as a substitute for cows milk. Almonds, cashews and filberts (hazelnuts) are the most nutritious nuts. Edgar Cayce frequently recommended these three nuts for many health conditions.

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Magnesium hydroxide - Mg(OH)2 - also known as "milk of magnesia" is a good source of magnesium and oxygen. As a side benefit, it helps clean out your colon and intestines. The friendly intestinal bacteria are aerobic and need oxygen. Plus, oxygen helps remove impacted fecal material. Magnesium hydroxide is not a stimulant like common laxatives, and is not habit-forming. However, you may experience a cleansing reaction from the colon for a few days after you start taking magnesium hydroxide, until the colon becomes aerobic and the population of lactobacilli has been restored.

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After nine months, women on magnesium supplements increased bone density by about 11%. - Journal of Nutritional Medicine, 1991; 2:165-178.

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Magnesium deficiency is one of the causes of migraine headaches. Women give a lot of their magnesium to their child during pregnancy and breast feeding. As a result, 75% of migraine sufferers are women. - Clin Neurosci 98;5(1):24-27, Magnesium 84;3(4-6):195-211.

3. Supplement your diet with freshly made fruit and vegetable juices. As a treatment for cancer, some doctors recommend one 8 oz glass per hour for every waking hour of the day. We could never eat the amount of nutrition we drink with these juices.

4. Learn and practice Transcendental Meditation (TM). TM is a non-dietary way to increase the alkalinity of your body. TM gives a level of rest twice as deep as sleep and is an effective antidote to stress. Stress is insidious because it affects us 24 hours each day. Stress causes the heart to beat too fast, the muscles to be too tense, the entire metabolism to be too fast. Metabolic waste products are acids (lactic acid, uric acid, etc.), which is one reason why dissolving stress increases the alkalinity of the body. The effectiveness of TM is evidenced by a 53% reduction in overall health care costs and a 55% reduction in cancer (Psychosomatic Medicine 49 (1987): 493-507, American Journal of Managed Care Volume 3, Number 1, (1997): 135-144).

The above 4 ways to increase the alkalinity of your body should be effective for most people. If you have difficulty becoming alkaline, here are five more ways for you to try.

5. As people age, the digestive system weakens. The result can be nutritional deficiencies in the body, even when the diet is adequate. It is not just what you eat, but what you absorb that is important. To improve your digestion, it may be helpful to take supplementary hydrochloric acid in the form of "betaine hydrochloride", and supplementary digestive enzymes with each meal. Bromelain, the enzyme in fresh pineapple, is also very helpful. We suggest eating fresh pineapple regularly.

6. Blood is a colloidal solution. The overall negative electrical charge (called zeta potential) in the blood is what keeps the cells and nutrients in suspension (like charges repel each other). When the negative electrical charge becomes weak, then particles in blood tend to clump together and fall out of solution. Plaques form on artery walls, in the brain and other places. The blood loses its capacity to carry nutrients. The value of the nutrients you consume is lost if the blood cannot transport them. About half the population has badly sludged blood (the cells have coagulated), and most of the remainder have some degree of sludging. Everyone needs to learn how to maximize their zeta potential and the nutrient carrying capacity of their blood.

One lab found that best results in reducing intravascular coagulation were obtained by drinking 8 glasses per day of reverse osmosis filtered water with a mix of potassium citrate and potassium bicarbonate added sufficient to raise the pH of the water to 8.0 to 8.4. The minerals MUST be taken with the water in order to be effective, because dehydration is also a factor. Potassium works better than sodium to reduce intravascular coagulation, in fact too much sodium in the diet is part of the problem. The lab recommends that everyone replace table salt with a mixture of 60% potassium chloride and 40% sodium chloride to better reflect the potassium/sodium balance found in foods.

The recommendations of this lab are remarkably similar to Dr. Gerson's cancer therapy which includes drinking one glass of freshly made fruit or vegetable juice (high in potassium) each waking hour of the day supplemented with a 10% potassium solution. Dr. Gerson's therapy directly strengthens the nutrient carrying capacity of the blood.

To increase your zeta potential you must avoid aluminum. Aluminum is used in water treatment plants to cause materials to settle out of solution. It does this by reducing the zeta potential. In your body aluminum does the same thing. Aluminum is found in municipally treated water, cooking utensils, vaccinations, non-clumping salt and baking powder, anti-perspirants, antacids, drugs (read the label carefully), soft drinks and other canned goods where the plastic liner has cracked during sealing, and in other unexpected places. A reverse osmosis water filter can remove aluminum from your drinking water.

Sodium and calcium decrease zeta potential. Potassium increases zeta potential. The form of potassium that has maximum effect on zeta potential is called potassium citrate. Potassium citrate is available on the Internet. You can read more about zeta potential here.

7. There is an intestinal disorder known as celiac disease that disrupts the ability to absorb calcium and vitamin D as well as other nutrients. Many people with osteoporosis actually have celiac disease. Celiac disease is the result of intolerance to the gluten in wheat, barley and rye. Following a gluten-free diet may improve both digestion and bone density. If you are having difficulty increasing your alkalinity, you might try a gluten-free diet for a few weeks or months to see if it helps.

8. Unhealthy intestinal bacteria and yeasts excrete lactic acid and other organic acids that are absorbed by the body and turn the blood acidic. This situation is often associated with inflamed and swollen intestines that are less able to absorb nutrients. People who are unable to alkalize their body using steps one to four above may be helped by the Specific Carbohydrate Diet that denies unhealthy intestinal flora and fauna the undigested carbohydrates that they eat. The Specific Carbohydrate Diet is explained in the book Breaking the Vicious Cycle by Elaine Gottschall.

9. Populations of bacteria, fungi, etc. may be thriving throughout your body without causing acute disease, yet producing copious acid waste products. These stealth infections may underlie a variety of degenerative conditions. Bacteria are found in arthritic joints, arterial plaque, and many other places. Reducing these populations by strengthening your immune system, hyperthermia, exercise, meditation, electro-medicine and other means can help alkalize your body and free up immune system resources to fight cancer.

Angstrom Minerals Product And Price List

The information on this page has been extracted from http://www.alkalizeforhealth.net/salivaphtest.htm.